Every Last Word

by Tamara Ireland Stone

Consumed by a stream of dark thoughts and worries that she can't turn off, a girl coping with Purely-Obsessional OCD learns to accept herself and take control of her life through her experiences in poetry club.

• ISBN10: 1484723643
• ISBN13: 9781484723647
• Publish Date: 29 August 2017 (first published 15 June 2015)
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 29 March 2021
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Hyperion
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 400
• Language: English

Reviews

[Sam@WLABB]

This book moved me a lot more than I thought it would. Books dealing with mental illness often hit home to me, as I have been walking the black dog (aka depression) as long as I can remember. I totally understood Sam's need to be normal -- no shrink, no drugs, and control over her own thoughts. I understood this need to keep this part of herself hidden. I loved that she was able to find a place where she could express herself and feel norma (Poet's Corner, the pool). I was glad she was able to find people with whom she could be honest about herself. I was glad she had a great support team (Shrink Sue, her family).

I actually liked that Stone showed the good parts of Sam's life more than the bad parts. I found it very encouraging. The embarrassment and shame was clearly illustrated, but so was "Summer Sam", that girl who was pretty normal.

One of the most important things in a YA story, according to me, is that the MC evolves. Sam changes a lot during this story. She is "cured", but she develops a different relationship with her illness, and it allows her more freedom to just be.

The "twist" at the end did not bother me. In fact, I found it interesting. It was Sam being completely honest with herself, and I actually shed a some tears during that part in the story.

I am so caught up in the illness part of the story, but I must mention the romance. Yes, Samantha finds a wonderful boy, who she is able to connect with. They share many adorable and swoony moments. He was a huge catalyst for the changes she made in her life, and really helped her be the best person she could be.

This book was about so much: OCD, family, friends, toxic friends, beginnings, endings, owning your words and the power of your words, forgiveness, remorse, regret, self acceptance. I had many feels.

[layawaydragon]

Every Last Word handles OCD, bullying, and high school drama really well. I teared up a couple of times with Caroline and AJ. The Mom is amazing. The treatment plan for Sam is great, love how it's laid out. Also, the Author's Note should be read as well for more information and detail. Very touching.

I love the relaxing of beauty standards and being supportive and positive rather than judgemental. And how it's not automatic, but a constant realigning of automatic thoughts with new outlook.

Part of me was put off with the TWIST, the other part of me was crying. I'm okay with the lingering questions about it. I know what I think of it. Leaving the door cracked a little bit allows for wiggle room depending on your beliefs. Guess I'm loosening up about this stuff after reading more magical realism.

*shrug*

[reveriesociety_]

I HAVE NO WORDS.

[lindsey]

(Source: I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.)

Every Last Word focuses on Samantha and the way she deals with her OCD and anxiety. She keeps it a secret, and no one, apart from her parents, sister, and therapist, knows about it. She plans to keep it that way, but it gets increasingly harder to hide it from her friends. She knows if they find out, they will drop her, and she doesn't want to deal with high school without friends - even if they're not the greatest friends. They're the most popular girls in school, and she doesn't want to give that up. After she meets Caroline, however, things start to change, and she isn't sure if she cares what her popular friends think of her after all.

I really enjoyed this novel. It held my interest from the start, and I was hoping that everything would work out for Sam in the end. I thought I knew how things would turn out, but I was completely shocked by the plot twist. About two pages before the twist was revealed, I stopped reading, and thought, "Wait... no way. There is no way the author is going to take the story in that direction." But she did, and it worked really well, even though it was heartbreaking. If I had been at home, I would have cried for the last 20% of the book, but unfortunately, I was reading during my lunch break at work. I managed to contain my tears, but it was a struggle.

Every Last Word isn't a perfect book, but it is pretty close. I thought the author did a wonderful job of dealing with Sam's OCD and anxiety, and I enjoyed the story. It flowed well and I didn't want to put it down. This book has excellent writing, interesting characters, and a serious plot, and it all works together exceptionally well.

Every Last Word is a wonderful example of a top-notch YA novel.

[shannonmiz]

Here's the deal: I really enjoyed this book. This book gave me some really intense feels, especially since I can very much relate, on a personal level, to the obsessive thoughts that Sam has. Also, Sam is a swimmer, and my heart kind of melts when I get to read about swimming in books. I can almost smell the chlorine. There are also some really great characters in this book other than Sam, and her mom is quite involved too, which is always a huge plus for me. Basically, nearly everything was on par for this book to be an absolute win for me, but one thing held me back. The worst part it that I can't even fully tell you what it  is, which makes reviewing this book just a bit problematic, no?

Well, there is far more good than not-so-good in this book, so let's just start there. Like I said, Sam is a fabulous character, and I could not help but root for her. She wants to badly to be "normal" (even though I don't think there is such a thing), and wants to just fit in with her friends and not have obsessive thoughts. She goes to this amazing counselor, and honestly, I was jealous! Where can I find a Shrink Sue? During the summer, Sam feels more like herself, more free to be who she is, and she and Sue call it "Summer Sam". When school starts again, her insanely rude group of friends basically demand that Sam be flawless all the time, which has to be tiring for anyone, let alone someone struggling with a mental health issue. The "Crazy Eights" are the worst. Also, there aren't even 8 of them. So when they are busy bullying and making fun of people... maybe they need to take a little trip to the mirror.

At first I was kind of mad at Sam for even wanting to still be friends with them but... she's a teenager, in high school. I get it. Anyway, she meets a new friend, Caroline, who she doesn't ever introduce to the Eights. Caroline, however, introduces Sam to Poet's Corner, and there Sam finds not only a new emotional outlet, but a whole new group of friends. You know, the kind who don't judge and belittle and you'd actually want to hang out with. I adored this group, because they seemed quite diverse but they still were able to come together for each other. They listened to each other's art without judgment or critique, and they were all so free to express themselves there. And there's a boy. A.J. had been the victim of one of the Eights' lovely bullying escapades, and he is reluctant at first to even be friends with Sam. But soon a friendship blossoms and then... well you know ;)  A.J. is a lovely romantic interest for Sam, because he is pretty much the opposite of a lot of the things in her life that had been dragging her down. The romance was slow and swoony, and I approve.

But there's this... thing that happens. A twist toward the end, that to me seemed incredibly unrealistic. I am not saying that this twisty situation can't ever happen in reality, but it just... didn't work for me. At all. No, let me rephrase that: It worked beautifully for the purpose of telling a good story, and for a good plot. But for me, it simply didn't work in a practical or psychological aspect.

Overall, the mental health piece of this book was very well done and very well researched, and I think it sheds a great light on the topic of obsessive thoughts. I have tried to explain this type of thought to friends and family but have been at a complete loss for how to explain it. I think Every Last Word achieved that, putting words to Sam's thoughts in an absolutely lovely way. I just feel that the twist sacrificed a bit of the honesty of the issue for plot value. Don't get me wrong, I had all sorts of emotions, especially toward the end, and I didn't dislike the twist from a reading perspective, just from a psychological one.

Bottom Line: This was a very good book that did an overall great job of tackling mental illness. The characters were very well written, especially Sam. Her struggles felt very genuine, and the author did a fabulous job of putting words to Sam's obsessions. Making Sam a fleshed out character and not just a product of her illness was fabulous. If not for my hesitation with the twist, this would have been perfect. As it stands, it is still definitely worth reading, especially since I don't think the twist will bother everyone as much as it did me.

 

**Copy provided by publisher for review**
This review was originally posted on It Starts at Midnight

[whisperingchapters]

This review was first published on Latte Nights Reviews.

I had requested this copy as soon as I read the description but then forgot about it. I started reading it, not remembering what it was about and I was taken by surprise. I am a Psychology major and this story fascinated me so much. This is not your normal contemporary, girly, cliche story. It’s not focused on romance. It is more focused on Sam, the main character’s life and her conflict with dealing with OCD and keeping it a secret from her friends. Until one day Sam meets Caroline, a girl who has her own demons and she introduces Sam to Poet’s Corner, a place where teens go to talk about their feelings through poems. But everything is not what it seems and Sam’s sanity really is questioned.

Did this book give me goosebumps? Yes, it really did. I was surprised and fascinated by everything I was reading. Sam’s character fascinated me to no end. Even though she is dealing with OCD—more on the obsessive side than compulsive—she has set goals for herself. Sam doesn’t whine about her disorder or her life. She gets that she has to live with it and has no choice but to keep fighting forward. Sam’s character grows as the story progresses. The reader gets to know how Sam keeps dealing with her disorder yet it gets to a point where she doesn’t let it stop her. I related to Sam because I write poems a lot, especially when I’m in my dark moods or just feel like writing how I’m feeling. Anyways, I wish I had a Poet’s Corner at my school or even at college. Everything in the room was described so vividly that the reader will be able to picture everything in the room, which really makes you want to have one at your school. That would have been so liberating, knowing I’m not the only one.

I didn’t like Sam’s friends. It’s as if they were a clique and no one could have other friends besides them. They would exclude Sam from everything, though! I hated them for it. And one of the reasons why I disliked Sam was because she kept her new friends from Poet’s Corner a secret because her “besties” couldn’t know about them or else she would be kicked out of their group. The other supporting characters, like Emily, Sydney, AJ and Caroline were amazing. Those are real friends that I wish I had in school. Those that actually understand you even if you haven’t told them what you are going through. That’s how they were with Sam. They were there to support her.

The one friendship that stands out is Sam's and Caroline's. As soon as they meet, they click, they connect, they understand one another right off the bat. Caroline helped Sam grow out of her shell and expand her horizons. She brought her to Poet's Corner so Sam wouldn't feel alone. Caroline was there through every step of the way until the end. Caroline doesn't feel ashamed of being Sam's friend, knowing she has OCD. Instead, she helps Sam control her thoughts and is there for her every step of the way. A friendship like that is definitely one to admire. But there is a surprise at the end that left me speechless. The thought had crossed my mind but I dismissed it and then it took me by surprise! It is very interesting.

Overall, this story was quite eye-opening and very respectful when it came to this serious matter. I loved that the author included therapy sessions with Sam and her psychiatrist so the reader gets a glimpse to how that life can be. If you are interested in reading a YA Contemporary story that focuses on personal growth amidst a personal battle with mental health that can be eye-opening, I really recommend this story for you.

[Jo]

Originally posted on Once Upon a Bookcase.

I'd not read anything by Tamara Ireland Stone before reading Every Last Word, so I didn't know what to expect. Every Last Word is a fantastic story, with a beautiful romance, of a girl dealing with her OCD and learning to accept herself.

Sam and her friends have been popular for as long as she can remember. However, as time has gone on, being popular has come be difficult, with all the expectations. Look good all the time, say the right thing, keep your place at the top of the social ladder at all costs, or lose everything. This is even harder for Sam who suffers with Purely-Obsessional OCD, so being and perfect is on her mind all the time. Then she meets Caroline, with whom the expectations just fall away. With Caroline, she can just be herself without fear of judgement. When Caroline brings her along to Poet's Corner, a secret group of students who write and read out poetry, Sam finds a place she feels she belongs, and she slowly starts to feel better, more normal. But then Sam makes a discovery that turns everything she knows on it's head, and Sam ends up fearing her mind even more.

Every Last Word is brilliant! Sam is such an amazing character, and through her, I got to see a side of OCD I haven't before. She has Purely-Obsessional OCD, which means, for her, it's mostly internal, having obsessed thoughts that she can't let go of; a spiral of thoughts that she can't control and can't stop, which can cause her to have anxiety attacks as she's so scared she might act on her thoughts, or they simply just freak her out. Some of her thoughts aren't that unfamiliar - I'm sure everyone has had the fear of not fitting in, or what their friends might think of them - but where we might push the thoughts aside and try to think of something else, Sam can't do that. They go on and on and on, and they're all-consuming. It scares her, and she hates it; hates the way she thinks, how theirs a glitch in her brain, how she's not "normal".

She has an absolutely wonderful relationship with the psychologist, Sue, who is just brilliant, and really helps Sam get on top of her mental illness. She really tries to get Sam to change the way she sees her OCD, so instead of seeing it as something to despise, it's something that's special, because she sees things differently to others. These moments come a little later on in the book, but I just loved them, because throughout this novel, with Sam's opinion of her OCD, I was reminded of the first half of this post on Hello Giggles, An Open Letter to My Anxiety-Riddled Brain - although Sam suffers with anxiety as well, her negativity on her mental illness is more towards her OCD, but there is a similarity in her feeling towards her mind and her brain. But with Sue's efforts to change how Sam sees it, I was reminded of the second half. The post is amazing for understanding what people who suffer with anxiety go through, and helped me to understand where Sam was coming from better. As someone who doesn't have OCD, Every Last Word seems to be an amazing book for promoting understanding.

As well as being a brilliant book on OCD, it's also a really great story. Sam's friends are simply awful, so I was so happy when she met Caroline, who is so laid back and care-free. She has had her own issues in the past, and so is able to help Sam with her own, without judgement - the first person Sam has ever told about her illness outside her family. To be understood, able to trust, and just be is so freeing to Sam, she and Caroline form a close friendship very quickly. And when she's introduced to Poet's Corner, Sam finds an outlet for her thoughts through writing, and more people who just accept her for her. She doesn't confide in them about her illness, but they don't pile expectations on her to be perfect, and she feels at home amongst them, which she has only felt before during the summer holidays, when she's competing in swimming competitions. And there's also AJ, and the sweet, sweet romance that develops between them. I loved the Poet's Corner, seeing these people reading out very different poems and the sense of belonging they all felt there. I loved it so much, I've been inspired to start writing my own crappy poetry again!

There was a part of the book I did, for a while, feel kind of annoyed about. As I was reading, I was thinking, "I must talk about this in my review." I felt let down by a certain aspect of the story. But then we had the twist. There is a big, major twist that I did not see coming at all, and completely explained and made sense of the aspect I had a problem with. The twist is just brilliant, it completely wowed me! At times in the story, it felt that Sam's mental illness wasn't as focal as Sam's time with those in Poet's Corner and Caroline. But then you get the twist, and realise it flows throughout. It's just so, so clever, and I felt all kinds of things; shock, sadness, sympathy. I know I've said it already, but it's just brilliant!

Every Last Word is an incredible story, one I highly recommend! I am now so eager to read the rest of Stone's novels; she's not an author to miss.

Thank you to Disney-Hyperion via NetGalley for the eProof.